Dangerous escalation against Palestinian content

Since Saturday, October 7, 2023, Sada Social has been tracking worrying developments in the digital sphere, including violations of the Palestinian narrative. Global attempts are underway to silence the Palestinian narrative in the telling of events, while governments and social media platforms around the world fully back and promote the Israeli narrative. Here are some noteworthy developments:

The European Union has asked social media platforms to remove Palestinian content related to the escalation in Palestine or face legal consequences. Platforms were given 24 hours to take action against Palestinian content or face fines and bans in Europe.

In response to the escalation in Palestine, Facebook amended its content privacy policy on Tuesday, October 11, 2023. It stressed limitations on “dangerous individuals and organizations,” including large portions of the Palestinian narrative and even addressing Palestinian press coverage.

Concurrent with the amendment of Facebook’s privacy policies, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, which owns platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and Messenger, stated unequivocally his entire support for Israel in the midst of its ethnic cleansing of civilians in Gaza.

On Monday, October 10, 2023, X Platform declared that it is partnering with the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to remove content relating to the Hamas movement and Palestinian accounts. Approximately 50 million tweets are being watched globally, and X has eliminated hundreds of Palestinian accounts.

YouTube removed videos depicting the unfolding events in Palestine and specifically reminded users that, while these videos may not violate community standards, they may not be appropriate for all viewers.

TikTok suspended multiple Palestinian accounts and restricted or prohibited videos showing solidarity and support for Palestine.

Messenger, which is owned by Meta, has prohibited users from transmitting in private conversations the official website link and Telegram channel link of the Hamas movement, as well as the official website link and Telegram channel link of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. This is in addition to Facebook, Instagram, and Threads prohibiting the sharing of these links, which severely limits access to material while compromising user privacy, particularly for media professionals.

Hundreds of phony profiles on numerous platforms have been detected attacking Palestinians, inciting violence against them, and spreading false news. The platforms have not deleted these accounts.

These actions obstruct access to the truth and contribute to the propagation of rumors and fake news, especially during times of crisis. They also allow Israel to narrate events from its point of view while restricting Palestinians. These changes coincide with a lack of transparency in these platforms’ regulations, the use of ambiguous terminology with different interpretations, and the imposition of double standards. Social media firms are enforcing stricter restrictions on Arab content but failing to exercise the same level of content management over Hebrew content.

Censorship and content restrictions on the internet are just as harmful as physical military activities. Without accountability or responsibility, content filtering adds to actual aggression and crimes against citizens. As a result of the widespread incitement to kill Palestinians on social media platforms, Sada Social recommends the quick reporting of inciteful posts in order for them to be removed. It also underlines the need to report any infringement of Palestinian material when social media networks take restriction measures against Palestinian accounts.

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